All purchases should be made in the best interest of the taxpayers in government and taxpayer-funded organizations. Good procurement practices are critical to the mission of spending taxpayer funds wisely.
One method for ensuring that goods and services are acquired in a cost-effective manner is to create as much competition as possible. Whether using formal competitive bids in accordance with General Municipal Law (GML), requests for proposals or written and verbal quotes, a well-planned solicitation effort is important to reach as many qualified vendors as possible.
Every fire district must adopt its own policies and procedures for procurement of goods and services not required by law to be competitively bid.
The Eastport Fire District Board-adopted procurement policy addresses the procurement of goods and services not required to be bid. However, the Policy does not provide guidance or encourage competitive methods for the procurement of professional services and insurance.
The Board did not use a competitive method such as issuing proposals or obtaining competitive quotes to procure professional services and insurance coverage from 10 vendors totaling $203,097. When officials do not seek competition for professional services, they lack assurance that services are procured in the most economical way, in the best interests of the taxpayers. Good procurement policies also act as a check against any nepotism in handing out contracts or purchase orders.
In addition, the District paid 20 vendors for goods and services totaling $96,955, without obtaining required quotes. As a result, the District may not have received the best price for the goods and services it purchased.
The report includes three recommendations that, if implemented, will improve District officials’ ability to ensure they are receiving the proper quality and pricing for their procurement of goods and services. District officials generally agreed with the recommendations and will make the changes.